Flowers!
Sunday’s break in the week long series of winter storms – which reminded us all that sunny seventy degree weather in January is NOT normal – inspired me to shoot the incredible variety of flowers that have sprung up in my yard recently. Most of ’em are small so I busted out my macro lens.
Just another installment of nature’s incredible artworks… like my Chasing Spiders post.
I was told this is a South African Daisy- very drought resistant
Rosemary on left; and unknown tiny purple star flowers on right (some kind of lily?)
Marigold: I rescued this plant from a crack in the driveway... I had no idea it would turn out so pretty!
on left is an aloe flower (I think) and to right is a mystery plant that sprung up in a pot of lilies, which have not yet flowered (anyone?)
These blossoms are from a tree that dumped a ton of tiny cherry-plums in the yard last year - I was told it's a "weed" tree!
on left is an iris plant moved from west Oakland; on right are geraniums that amazingly bloom all year long
Our neighborhood has a lot of camelias... must have been fashionable years ago. Sort of reminds me of Los Angeles...
Lovely calla lily
not sure what's on left (anyone?); on right is a flower from one of my succulents
I'd never heard of Euphorbia before moving into this home, but we have a variety of these South African plants
Another type of Euphorbia... these plants are super drought-resistant
Snowdrops - these were some of the first blooms of the year... popped up all over the yard.
Alstroemeria - we have big clumps of these in pink, orange, and red. They mostly flower through the summer and are great for cut flower arrangements, but this lone flower sprouted early.
I have no idea what this is. It produces big flat heads of flowers, sort of like Queen Anne's Lace, but yellow. Anyone?
Another plum tree, but these plums are bigger!
Not sure what's on left, flowers are shaped like Monkey-flower bush but are fuschia colored; on right is a highly invasive weed (I've been told) and I've ripped much of it out, but I really love the tiny clusters of pink flowers
I think this is called a daisy tree (or shrub) - it's a pretty big perennial, covered in tiny flowers.
another view of south african daisy on left; blooming lavender on right
This plant was faring terribly - I was told it's called Poor Man's Rhododendron and was in too sunny of a spot. I moved it into the shade and it's much happier!
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Did you ever find out what the “highly invasive weed” with pink flowers is called? I’ve been fighting to remove it from my garden for years, and no one can identify it. This is the first picture I’ve found of it online.
Hi Hugh,
I learned a bit more about it this spring after my garden was featured on a garden tour. The plant is called Red Valerian or Jupiter’s Beard (botanical name: Centranthus ruber) and is basically a weed – but a very pretty one. I don’t believe it’s technically considered “invasive” but it is considered to be “aggressive” and needs to be controlled in areas where it might be prone to take over.
Here’s a bit more info about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centranthus_ruber
Hope that’s helpful!